Friday morning and I was awaken from a coma at 6:08am when the alarm went off. I was scheduled to go in for a client this morning, who ended up getting caught up at the hospital (for work) and had to cancel. So here I am...already blogging and cleaning stuff by 8am. Ridiculous. While I was excited to go into work, I certainly could use the extra moments to get caught up on some things. Like laundry. I've managed to wear dirty workout clothes a couple of times over the past 2 weeks, which, I will not deny is disgusting considering how much I sweat. And as you cringe, I have no doubt that there is something pretty gross that you do as well....I just happen to admit mine to America over the internet.
Workouts this week have been great. I'm keeping everything 10-12 reps, but the weight is heavier and more manageable than last week. Feels good. I changed my workout split just a little:
Monday: back/delts/bi
Tuesday: legs/chest/tri
Wednesday: cardio
Thursday: back/delts (more emph)/bi
Friday: leg (ham emph)/chest/tri
I like hitting each body part twice a week, and I've kept legs shy of failure so that I can get in all my running without feeling like I'm about to die on the treadmill. Its going well, and my jogs are starting to go by a little faster (thank God!). The next 4-5 weeks will go like this, and then I'll switch it up again. Got to keep the body guessing...
Started back with my oatmeal in the morning. It still looks like vomit with my egg white chunks in it, but I figure I'm saving my digestive system a step if I go ahead and put it in the form it will soon take in my gut. Only kidding,...but sort of true. If you haven't tried peanut butter in your oatmeal you are missing out in life. You are depriving yourself. You have not yet arrived. (This is my attempt to get you to throw in that nutty-goodness and get with the program). Life's too short to eat plain oatmeal.
Ah yes, back to cleaning and then getting my workout in...
Have an awesome weekend folks!!!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Opening doors
Monday,...here I am.
Coming off of an eventful weekend, the alarm went off a little too early this morning. I finished the week with a bout with the pilates reformer machine...Anna nearly killed me. My inner thighs were raw and I was caught in a couple of positions that I'm pretty sure are only acceptable in the hospital...while giving birth...
I needed the stretching though, and an extra day away from the weights was a good thing. I felt stronger today and ready for anything...well, sort of....
I jacked the weights back up and went for reps of 10-12 on all major strength movements (rows, WG pull-ups, shoulder press,...), and then went 12-15 reps on all isolation moves (DB curls, lateral raises,...). I finished the day with a 4.25 mile jog and then gladly hit the shower. I was pleased with the workout and am surprisingly looking forward to leg day tomorrow. Eh,....I take it back,...I totally take it back...
Had an awesome day with clients. One client in particular had an incredible victory this weekend. She won her age group in a local 5k, and had a PR. This was huge for her.....this came from a woman who used to be 90 pounds heavier and not even be able to walk a mile. So proud of her. But what's even more exciting is watching her start to genuinely believe that she is capable of more. More than what she used to do. More than what others may have thought was possible. More than she believed was achievable just a few months ago. Awesome. It made my day to say the least.
Other big shout out....I went to watch Tyler play soccer last Thursday night. The AAA state champs versus the AAAA state champs. Intense game, T had a critical PK....nailed it...they walked away with a win by 1 goal. Awesome job...and some sick foot skills....all that running made me tired and made me appreciate the measly 4 miles I ran today. To be honest, soccer might be my nightmare....running back and forth for 90 minutes and telling me I can't touch the damn ball with my hands. I was done at the "running" part. Hard to believe I was the catcher on the softball team, right?! Ha....yeah right....all I had to do was squat and talk crap to the batter. Check and check.
Well, I better head to bed...long day awaits.
Keep moving...always up :)
Coming off of an eventful weekend, the alarm went off a little too early this morning. I finished the week with a bout with the pilates reformer machine...Anna nearly killed me. My inner thighs were raw and I was caught in a couple of positions that I'm pretty sure are only acceptable in the hospital...while giving birth...
I needed the stretching though, and an extra day away from the weights was a good thing. I felt stronger today and ready for anything...well, sort of....
I jacked the weights back up and went for reps of 10-12 on all major strength movements (rows, WG pull-ups, shoulder press,...), and then went 12-15 reps on all isolation moves (DB curls, lateral raises,...). I finished the day with a 4.25 mile jog and then gladly hit the shower. I was pleased with the workout and am surprisingly looking forward to leg day tomorrow. Eh,....I take it back,...I totally take it back...
Had an awesome day with clients. One client in particular had an incredible victory this weekend. She won her age group in a local 5k, and had a PR. This was huge for her.....this came from a woman who used to be 90 pounds heavier and not even be able to walk a mile. So proud of her. But what's even more exciting is watching her start to genuinely believe that she is capable of more. More than what she used to do. More than what others may have thought was possible. More than she believed was achievable just a few months ago. Awesome. It made my day to say the least.
Other big shout out....I went to watch Tyler play soccer last Thursday night. The AAA state champs versus the AAAA state champs. Intense game, T had a critical PK....nailed it...they walked away with a win by 1 goal. Awesome job...and some sick foot skills....all that running made me tired and made me appreciate the measly 4 miles I ran today. To be honest, soccer might be my nightmare....running back and forth for 90 minutes and telling me I can't touch the damn ball with my hands. I was done at the "running" part. Hard to believe I was the catcher on the softball team, right?! Ha....yeah right....all I had to do was squat and talk crap to the batter. Check and check.
Well, I better head to bed...long day awaits.
Keep moving...always up :)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Need a break
Its been a week since my last post, and I feel like the days are absolutely flying by. I've been in 5th gear for the past couple of weeks and am ready to hibernate for like a month. I just simply have not had any type of balance lately, and combined with a lack of sleep and you got yourself a hot mess...
Training is going well, although I know I need to take a few days off. My strength is down, and coming off of 7 solid weeks of power/strength phase, I am in much need of rest....sooo hard for me to take a break from the weight room though. This week I started back at 10-12 reps, 12-15 on legs, and am taking a break from sprints. Everything is sore. I am sucking wind through each set because I cut my rest time down to 40 seconds between sets (I've been doing 90-120 seconds to maximize strength gains over the last few weeks). So the decrease in rest time has been a punch to the gut...
Overall, I was pleased with my gains....here are a couple of my PR's for reps of 4-6:
Flat DB bench press - 55lb dumbbells
Squats - 220lbs
Leg press - 510lbs (thought I might lose bladder control at this point)
Weighted WG pull-ups - bodyweight,+ 15lbs
Incline DB press - 50lb dumbbells
I'll take it for now...
It was eye opening to me to see just how far I could push myself...5 more pounds...10 more pounds...one more rep. I would literally say "just one more" to myself, curse, and then shoot for one more rep...such a weird, angry cycle....ha. But honestly, my body is extremely tired at this point. 7 weeks of that and I was looking forward to increasing the reps this week. Ugh....still debating whether or not to lift on Thursday/Friday. ONLY doing cardio makes me a little nauseous thinking about it...
Ok, I've got to get in bed...more to come later...
Training is going well, although I know I need to take a few days off. My strength is down, and coming off of 7 solid weeks of power/strength phase, I am in much need of rest....sooo hard for me to take a break from the weight room though. This week I started back at 10-12 reps, 12-15 on legs, and am taking a break from sprints. Everything is sore. I am sucking wind through each set because I cut my rest time down to 40 seconds between sets (I've been doing 90-120 seconds to maximize strength gains over the last few weeks). So the decrease in rest time has been a punch to the gut...
Overall, I was pleased with my gains....here are a couple of my PR's for reps of 4-6:
Flat DB bench press - 55lb dumbbells
Squats - 220lbs
Leg press - 510lbs (thought I might lose bladder control at this point)
Weighted WG pull-ups - bodyweight,+ 15lbs
Incline DB press - 50lb dumbbells
I'll take it for now...
It was eye opening to me to see just how far I could push myself...5 more pounds...10 more pounds...one more rep. I would literally say "just one more" to myself, curse, and then shoot for one more rep...such a weird, angry cycle....ha. But honestly, my body is extremely tired at this point. 7 weeks of that and I was looking forward to increasing the reps this week. Ugh....still debating whether or not to lift on Thursday/Friday. ONLY doing cardio makes me a little nauseous thinking about it...
Ok, I've got to get in bed...more to come later...
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Pick it up just to put it down...
It's been almost a week, and honestly, I am just busy.
My body is tired, my mind is tired,...yadda yadda, I know.
Its week 3 for me in the 4-6 rep range and it seems like I always hit this wall on week 3...everything feels a lot heavier than it did the week before, and I am struggling to finish my workouts. No doubt that my strength has gone through the roof, but the past 2 days of lifting felt out of sync. I finished today's leg workout with 30 minutes of cardio. For the record, jogging 3 miles after squatting 220 pounds is a kick to the quads, crotch, and pretty much everywhere else. It took me a solid 15 minutes before I found any kind of rhythm...and even after that every step was heavy. Overall, I was pleased with my weights and just glad to get it over with to be honest. I wasn't feeling it today, but some days are like that...push through...
Its been a good week thus far...just a little tired and in need of some down time. I was able to have some on September 11th because I was basically glued to the TV watching documentaries about the horrible act 10 years ago. One minute I was crying, and the next minute I was just angry at the world. I was having my own little bipolar experience right there in my living room...ridiculous. Anyway, I think that day just left me emotionally and mentally drained...not the most optimal way to start a work week.
This will have to be short...I need to get to bed because 4:30 will come way too early and next thing you know I'll be throwing my alarm on the floor and muttering obscenities. I like to think that I'm not the only person who wakes up that way...
Night folks!!
My body is tired, my mind is tired,...yadda yadda, I know.
Its week 3 for me in the 4-6 rep range and it seems like I always hit this wall on week 3...everything feels a lot heavier than it did the week before, and I am struggling to finish my workouts. No doubt that my strength has gone through the roof, but the past 2 days of lifting felt out of sync. I finished today's leg workout with 30 minutes of cardio. For the record, jogging 3 miles after squatting 220 pounds is a kick to the quads, crotch, and pretty much everywhere else. It took me a solid 15 minutes before I found any kind of rhythm...and even after that every step was heavy. Overall, I was pleased with my weights and just glad to get it over with to be honest. I wasn't feeling it today, but some days are like that...push through...
Its been a good week thus far...just a little tired and in need of some down time. I was able to have some on September 11th because I was basically glued to the TV watching documentaries about the horrible act 10 years ago. One minute I was crying, and the next minute I was just angry at the world. I was having my own little bipolar experience right there in my living room...ridiculous. Anyway, I think that day just left me emotionally and mentally drained...not the most optimal way to start a work week.
This will have to be short...I need to get to bed because 4:30 will come way too early and next thing you know I'll be throwing my alarm on the floor and muttering obscenities. I like to think that I'm not the only person who wakes up that way...
Night folks!!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Squash it!!
Just got done eating an amazing new concoction. Do not judge me, I simply like a ton of texture in my food...I want an all-inclusive party in my bowl as well as my mouth. Here's what I made:
I took a small yellow squash and zucchini, peeled it with this Pampered Chef device that made it like spaghetti noodles, then sauteed it in a pan with chunks of chicken. Seasoned it with only some spray olive oil, garlic powder, and some sea salt. Once cooked, I mixed in some finely chopped carrots, Parmesan cheese, a dash of ranch flavoring, and cottage cheese. It was the most bizarre mixture, but was absolutely great. Excellent ending to hump day if I do say so myself. I should have taken a picture...looked pretty sick actually.
Great day.
I felt rested despite waking up at least 5 times last night wondering what day it was, if I was running late, and who this man was laying next to me. Ok, I figured out the latter pretty quickly. But seriously, not the best night's sleep, that's for sure. As far as workouts go, all I had was sprints. I opted for hill sprints since my legs were not horribly sore from yesterday's workout...shocker. Had a PR yesterday on squats which made my day...220 for 5 reps on the last set. My glutes were screaming obscenities. So worth it. Anyway, today's sprints felt great and I finished with light cardio for 15 minutes. I was definitely glad to head to the shower after that....
Tomorrow is back to upper body. I'd love to see 50's on incline...we shall see...
Ok, time for some shut-eye. Hopefully tonight I will not have a midnight-freakout...my God its absurd, but I'm sure Ryan is entertained...
I took a small yellow squash and zucchini, peeled it with this Pampered Chef device that made it like spaghetti noodles, then sauteed it in a pan with chunks of chicken. Seasoned it with only some spray olive oil, garlic powder, and some sea salt. Once cooked, I mixed in some finely chopped carrots, Parmesan cheese, a dash of ranch flavoring, and cottage cheese. It was the most bizarre mixture, but was absolutely great. Excellent ending to hump day if I do say so myself. I should have taken a picture...looked pretty sick actually.
Great day.
I felt rested despite waking up at least 5 times last night wondering what day it was, if I was running late, and who this man was laying next to me. Ok, I figured out the latter pretty quickly. But seriously, not the best night's sleep, that's for sure. As far as workouts go, all I had was sprints. I opted for hill sprints since my legs were not horribly sore from yesterday's workout...shocker. Had a PR yesterday on squats which made my day...220 for 5 reps on the last set. My glutes were screaming obscenities. So worth it. Anyway, today's sprints felt great and I finished with light cardio for 15 minutes. I was definitely glad to head to the shower after that....
Tomorrow is back to upper body. I'd love to see 50's on incline...we shall see...
Ok, time for some shut-eye. Hopefully tonight I will not have a midnight-freakout...my God its absurd, but I'm sure Ryan is entertained...
Monday, September 5, 2011
Falcons in Flight
Happy Labor Day.
Its 3:30 in the afternoon and the house is quiet....much different than my typical Monday afternoon. Sleeping in this morning was heaven, and 4:30 came and went without me even knowing it. I was completely fine with it. Truth be told, I needed a day off. I needed to unwind, catch my breath, and sit on my rear for awhile. I'm getting good at it thus far...
Ryan and I worked out together today. I had on bikers....it was hard to keep that kid focused. Ha,...I don't mind....as my husband, I HOPE I can still distract him to some degree. We had a solid workout, and I was thankful he was there to spot me. My weights increased slightly on 4 lifts, so I can't complain about that. I was pretty pumped about 135 on BB row and 75 on shoulder press for the last 3 sets. I'll take it. Next week will be hard to go up after today...my grip is still struggling after the 4th exercise. Eh,...details....
I finished up with sprints and my glutes were screaming. It was such a contrast to my run this weekend. Since I've been training more for power/strength over the last 5 weeks, my distance runs are more miserable than ever. (I say "distance" like its 2 hours of my life....more like 45-50...that feels like 80). My body does not agree with steady-state cardio right now. Give me 60 yds, that's it...no more. I'd rather sprint until I bled than run 5+ miles while my quads are hating me every step of the way. Train for speed, get faster.....train slow, get slow....train for speed and then run slow for more than 35 minutes = horrible. I also made the mistake of running at 11:30...it was beyond hot by that point. But, I got it done. Another cardio session in the books.
Random question....do any of you who workout consistently sweat more than normal when you're not working out?? Its become ridiculous for me, and I need to talk to my dermatologist. We went to the Duke game Saturday night....a 7:00 game, so the sun was setting, seats were shaded, and there I was soaking wet in sweat. I looked over and there was a guy wearing a long sleeved collared shirt and a fleece vest without one drop of sweat on his face. I was pissed, and yet couldn't find justification for yelling at this random stranger besides the fact that he was dry and I was not. Its to the point that I cannot wear certain colors/fabrics during the summer because I'll look like I just ran a marathon (which we all know would not be true....ever). Even my 210 pound husband who was wearing jeans was not sweating....so then I was pissed at the random stranger and him. What a long game...
Ok, nap time...for me and every other person under the age of 7 and over the age of 75....
I have a life, I swear...
Its 3:30 in the afternoon and the house is quiet....much different than my typical Monday afternoon. Sleeping in this morning was heaven, and 4:30 came and went without me even knowing it. I was completely fine with it. Truth be told, I needed a day off. I needed to unwind, catch my breath, and sit on my rear for awhile. I'm getting good at it thus far...
Ryan and I worked out together today. I had on bikers....it was hard to keep that kid focused. Ha,...I don't mind....as my husband, I HOPE I can still distract him to some degree. We had a solid workout, and I was thankful he was there to spot me. My weights increased slightly on 4 lifts, so I can't complain about that. I was pretty pumped about 135 on BB row and 75 on shoulder press for the last 3 sets. I'll take it. Next week will be hard to go up after today...my grip is still struggling after the 4th exercise. Eh,...details....
I finished up with sprints and my glutes were screaming. It was such a contrast to my run this weekend. Since I've been training more for power/strength over the last 5 weeks, my distance runs are more miserable than ever. (I say "distance" like its 2 hours of my life....more like 45-50...that feels like 80). My body does not agree with steady-state cardio right now. Give me 60 yds, that's it...no more. I'd rather sprint until I bled than run 5+ miles while my quads are hating me every step of the way. Train for speed, get faster.....train slow, get slow....train for speed and then run slow for more than 35 minutes = horrible. I also made the mistake of running at 11:30...it was beyond hot by that point. But, I got it done. Another cardio session in the books.
Random question....do any of you who workout consistently sweat more than normal when you're not working out?? Its become ridiculous for me, and I need to talk to my dermatologist. We went to the Duke game Saturday night....a 7:00 game, so the sun was setting, seats were shaded, and there I was soaking wet in sweat. I looked over and there was a guy wearing a long sleeved collared shirt and a fleece vest without one drop of sweat on his face. I was pissed, and yet couldn't find justification for yelling at this random stranger besides the fact that he was dry and I was not. Its to the point that I cannot wear certain colors/fabrics during the summer because I'll look like I just ran a marathon (which we all know would not be true....ever). Even my 210 pound husband who was wearing jeans was not sweating....so then I was pissed at the random stranger and him. What a long game...
Ok, nap time...for me and every other person under the age of 7 and over the age of 75....
I have a life, I swear...
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Homecoming
My work week is just about over and I am looking forward to a long weekend. The hubby arrived back in town about 3 hours ago from baseball season, and eagerly walked in the house ready to sit in the recliner, eat cereal, and listen to his ridiculous wife....ok, maybe just the first two. There were cookies waiting for him on the table, because nothing says welcome home like a batch full of high fructose corn syrup and saturated fat. I think I was just successful at completely killing any excitement related to those cookies...
Today was a good day. I felt pretty energized and ready to go. The morning flowed well and I ended it with 2 new clients...mother/daughter duo. I think they both are just ready for a lifestyle change and its great that they are willing/wanting to go at it together. Very cool...
But it always blows my mind how out of shape we are as a society. The fact that someone walks 2 minutes on a treadmill and is huffing and puffing is absolutely sad. Our bodies were not meant to be sedentary and not meant to carry an extra 30+ pounds. Its upsetting that we've come to a point where this is the norm and we are simply OK with it. Why are we fine with being unhealthy and slowly killing ourselves? It does not make sense. To be flooded with such self-empowering and self confident notions as we are these days, its amazing that we can feel so great about the poor health choices we're consciously making on a daily basis.
On to my workout for the day...
I had upper body, 4 sets of 4-6 reps on everything and was pleased with my weights. I'm stuck at 35's on shoulder press and its driving me a little nuts. Huge jump to move to 40's and the mental-block its created is more irritating than anything. Eh...so here was the order:
Incline DB press
Lat pull-down (mid-trap emphasis)
Seated shoulder press
Single arm lat pull-down
Lat bar curls
Lateral DB raises
Alternating incline curls
Rope press-down
No cardio for me today. I will make up for it tomorrow and probably regret not getting it over with today. But my body was DONE. Tomorrow is legs/core...that will be interesting to day the least...
I am pooped. Cleaning tomorrow morning....workout...errands...then dinner with Ryan, where I will proceed to talk about anything and everything inappropriate at the table. Yes, I was raised in a barn.
Night people!
Today was a good day. I felt pretty energized and ready to go. The morning flowed well and I ended it with 2 new clients...mother/daughter duo. I think they both are just ready for a lifestyle change and its great that they are willing/wanting to go at it together. Very cool...
But it always blows my mind how out of shape we are as a society. The fact that someone walks 2 minutes on a treadmill and is huffing and puffing is absolutely sad. Our bodies were not meant to be sedentary and not meant to carry an extra 30+ pounds. Its upsetting that we've come to a point where this is the norm and we are simply OK with it. Why are we fine with being unhealthy and slowly killing ourselves? It does not make sense. To be flooded with such self-empowering and self confident notions as we are these days, its amazing that we can feel so great about the poor health choices we're consciously making on a daily basis.
On to my workout for the day...
I had upper body, 4 sets of 4-6 reps on everything and was pleased with my weights. I'm stuck at 35's on shoulder press and its driving me a little nuts. Huge jump to move to 40's and the mental-block its created is more irritating than anything. Eh...so here was the order:
Incline DB press
Lat pull-down (mid-trap emphasis)
Seated shoulder press
Single arm lat pull-down
Lat bar curls
Lateral DB raises
Alternating incline curls
Rope press-down
No cardio for me today. I will make up for it tomorrow and probably regret not getting it over with today. But my body was DONE. Tomorrow is legs/core...that will be interesting to day the least...
I am pooped. Cleaning tomorrow morning....workout...errands...then dinner with Ryan, where I will proceed to talk about anything and everything inappropriate at the table. Yes, I was raised in a barn.
Night people!
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